Chapter 8: The Evidence She Buried
I arrived at Martha’s house with Nick two hours later.
I didn’t want to come.
Every part of me screamed that entering her world again was a mistake.
But I needed answers.
And more importantly, Nick needed to face what he had spent years avoiding.
The house looked exactly as I remembered.
Perfect.
Clean.
Cold.
Every picture carefully placed.
Every pillow perfectly arranged.
It didn’t feel like a home.
It felt like a museum.
A museum dedicated to Martha being right.
Nick unlocked the door.
“Mom?””
No answer.
We walked inside.
The silence felt wrong.
Then I saw the dining table.
A stack of papers.
Open folders.
Photographs.
Martha wasn’t there.
But she had left something behind.
Nick picked up the top document.
His face changed.
“What?””
He handed it to me.
It was a financial report.
I didn’t understand everything.
But I understood one thing.
My name was written on it.
“What is this?””
Nick looked confused.
“I don’t know.””
We searched through the papers.
The deeper we went, the stranger it became.
There were notes.
Printed emails.
Private information.
Martha had been collecting details about me.
My job.
My family.
My past.
Everything.
“She was investigating me.””
Nick looked sick.
“Yes.””
I found another page.
This one had a title.
*Reasons Emily Is Unsuitable.*
I almost couldn’t believe it.
It listed ridiculous things.
“She spends too much.””
“She is too emotional.””
“She does not understand our family traditions.””
I laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was unbelievable.
“She made a report.””
Nick looked at the pages.
“She treated our relationship like a problem to solve.””
Then we heard a sound.
A door closing upstairs.
We froze.
“Mom?””
No answer.
Nick motioned for me to stay behind him.
We walked slowly toward the stairs.
Every step felt louder.
Then a voice came from above.
“I knew you’d come.””
Martha.
Standing at the top of the stairs.
Holding a box.
Nick stared.
“What are you doing?””
She looked at him.
“Saving you.””
I almost laughed.
“From what?””
She looked at me.
“From a mistake.””
Nick stepped forward.
“Give me the box.””
“No.””
“Mom.””
“You don’t understand.””
“I understand enough.””
She shook her head.
“No, you don’t.””
Her voice became softer.
“Your father left because he wanted a different life.””
Nick froze.
“What?””
Martha looked at him.
“He chose himself over this family.””
The room went quiet.
I watched Nick’s face.
Pain.
Confusion.
Anger.
“You told me he abandoned us.””
“He did.””
“Then why are you bringing him up now?””
Martha looked down at the box.
“Because he left something behind.””
She opened it.
Inside were old letters.
Nick stared.
“What are those?””
“Letters your father wrote.””
My heart tightened.
Martha had hidden them.
For years.
“Why?””
Her eyes filled.
“Because he said something about you.””
Nick took a step closer.
“What?””
She looked at him.
“He said he was proud of you.””
Silence.
A terrible silence.
Because suddenly, the weapon Martha had used her whole life was exposed.
She had built Nick’s loyalty around a lie.
She had made herself the only parent he could love.
And now the truth was sitting in a cardboard box.
Nick whispered:
“You hid my father’s letters?””
Martha cried.
“I was scared.””
“Of what?””
“That you would forgive him.””
The answer broke something.
Not just in Nick.
In me.
Because Martha hadn’t been protecting her son.
She had been protecting her place in his life.
Nick slowly reached for the box.
Martha didn’t stop him.
For the first time, she looked defeated.
Then his phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His expression changed.
“What?””
I looked at him.
“What happened?””
He answered.
“Hello?””
A voice spoke from the other end.
Nick’s face went pale.
“What do you mean she filed it?””
My heart dropped.
“Filed what?””
He ended the call.
May you like
Then looked at me.
“It’s the annulment papers.””
